


The One With The Am Dram

by Davechicken



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 11:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10762917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Davechicken/pseuds/Davechicken
Summary: Hux is used to being the leading man.





	The One With The Am Dram

The Am Dram society isn’t that big, even in a nice school like this. Hux doesn’t mind so much, because he’s not one for huge crowds. Even the idea of an audience is a little daunting, but the fact they’re beyond the proscenium arch means he can tolerate it. 

There, it’s Us and Them. And They are firmly below and apart, and Hux can pretend that the rustling noises of bums on seats is just the wind. The dimmed lights of the auditorium hide the eyes from him, and he can throw himself into whatever role he’s been cast in.

And he gets them all. It’s nice, because he’s the best male in their small group.

Admittedly there aren’t _many_ males in their group, so much so that there’s more than one part that’s been cross-cast. The girls do a very good job, but they’re not going to steal the leading male part from an actual, cis-male. Hux knows this, and he’s happy being the Alpha in a group of girls and first-years. The ones who will come and go, not quite dedicated enough to last. They hear there’s a large amount of unattached females with no males to poach them, and they try their hand, but they don’t have what it takes to stay long term.

They’re not born to the boards. Not like him. Hux _breathes_ the poetry of the stage, and he’s examining the girls over the top of his script, trying to pick out who will take which part. He normally gets the casting right, knowing the drama teacher’s preferences, and all his co-stars’ strengths and weaknesses, but when the door opens to welcome the mountain of a thing that is the transfer student, he shakes his head.

“Rugby is played on the pitch,” he sneers. “You know, the closest thing to your so-called _football_. With less padding.”  


“Yeah, I know what rugby is,” the boy says, slinging his worn backpack off his shoulder, pulling out a dog-eared script from his back pocket.   


“…you can’t be serious.”  


“What?”  


“You want to _audition_?”  


“Yeah. I thought it was today?” The Hulk ™ pushes his long hair back behind one ear.  


Hux doesn’t know if it’s an American thing or not. No self-respecting young man here would wear his hair that long. Hux’s _own_ is a little longer than most, and he gets away with it because he’s Artistic, but this walking fridge looks like he might rip the door off and try to surf down the nearest river on top of it. 

“It is.” How dare he? With his broad shoulders and his toned physique. He’s not allowed to be artistic! It destroys the whole - the whole unspoken rule of things! You’re artsy, or you’re sporty. You’re nerdy, or you’re a slacker.   


And yes, okay, so he’s supposed to be against all the stereotypes and prejudice, and for inclusivity, and all about gender and sexual equality and things, but that’s - that’s not when someone who looks like they could fucking well punch a wall down is about to try to _steal his parts_. **He** is the Alpha Gay here. In fact, the other boy looks like he’s fucking _straight_ , which means all the girls will start trying to out-compete one another, and they’ll all want the Prima Donna role, just to get the chance of fake-making-out with him, and Hux’s nice little empire is going to tumble and fall and–

“You’re _American_ ,” Hux accuses.  


“Yeah. I know. But I don’t pronounce the lack of a ‘u’.”  


“What?”  


“…in words? You know… honor?”  


“Honour.” Hux can tell he’s thinking it wrong. “You do.”

“No, that’s just… I say everything like that.”  


“You would… you will throw people out of their suspension of disbelief. You can’t play _Shakespeare_.”  


“They say the American accent is closer to–”  


“ _I know what they say but we have a strong tradition of thespians that leads back to–”_  


“Gentlemen, is there a problem?”   


The affable drama teacher, stoner that she is, is in the room. Staring at the two boys who are now squaring off at one another, and Hux has never been more embarrassed in his _life_. Never. 

“No,” Hux spits. “I’m ready.”  


“Well, I thought I might pitch another idea to everyone,” Ms. Kanata says, peering through her milk-bottle glasses. Her frizzy hair constantly looks like she’s been intimate with a power outlet, and does nothing to conceal her diminutive stature. “I heard young Ben here wanted to audition, and I thought it might be interesting to do a less well-known play, now we have two strong, male leads.”  


Oh for the love of… “So all my rehearsing was for nothing?” Hux snaps.

“No, it’s all good,” she says, walking to her favoured spot. “But I’d like to try _Coriolanus_. It has some strong roles for women, too.”  


Hux knows that perfectly well, and he bites his tongue. “Fine.”

“Fine with me,” Ben says, shrugging.  


Rey, the brightest of the girls, walks up to Ben and pulls his script from him. “We’re going to need to look at this,” she says. 

“Fine by me,” Ben mutters, letting her walk off with it.   


He already _had_ the sheet? What the hell? Hux decides Ms. Kanata is the literal worst, and wonders if he can somehow…

“I’m trying for Aufidius,” Ben says, shouldering his bag and walking over to the corner. “So you don’t need to worry.”  


“…you don’t want Coriolanus?”  


“Not my type of role,” Ben shrugs. “And I thought you’d want to be Caius Marcus.”  


Oh.

Hux deflates a little. “…it… does have… a lot of good material.”

“Ben,” says the boy, holding out his hand. “You can stop trying to kill me, now. Although that will help with the energy for our interactions in the play.”  


Hux glances across at the girls, who are doling up the roles between them, working out who fits which one best so they don’t compete too much. Hux has never needed to negotiate before, and it’s… weird. 

“Hux,” he says, and sits one desk over from him. “I didn’t know you liked the theatre.”  


“You’ve literally never even spoken to me.”  


“…yes, but–”  


“Hux, why don’t we start over? I like theatre. I don’t want it to be like every other school. Just because I like sports, too… don’t put me in a box, maybe?”  


Yeah. Hux feels guilty for that, and he feels his face getting hot. “I’m sorry. It was rude of me, it’s… just difficult.” People like Ben get to be top dog wherever they go. People like Hux? They have to carve out their own holes. 

“I get that. Trust me.” Those big brown eyes smile at him. “More than you might imagine.”  


Maybe having another leading man won’t be so bad, even if he’s likely painfully straight. Hux nods at Ms. Kanata as she hands out more pages, and he sees the one they’re to try out with is a confrontation scene.

Much as it’s difficult… he turns to Ben. “Did you have any thoughts about how you wanted to play this?”

More smiles, and Hux is relieved he’s being given a second chance. “Yeah. You’re not as heavy-set as me, so I thought we could play a bit on that. Work with the physicality of it, and maybe throw in some height-dominance?”

Hux nods. “And here…” he says, tapping the sheet. “I think we should draw this bit out…”

By the time they’re called up, they’ve got the bones of it sketched out. Hux has never felt so engaged with a scene in his _life_ , and he just **knows** that Ms. Kanata picked this play on purpose. He _knows_.

She’s better at her job than she has any right to be. 


End file.
